January 26, 2013

"He had children with a number of aboriginal maidens, and one of these
children converted to Islam and became the first sultan. However, the
state continued to be multicultural. The second sultan was either
Chinese or married a Chinese woman. The third sultan was said to be part
Arab, who are seen in South and Southeast Asia as the descendents of
Muhammad.... The sultanate was a thalassocracy, a realm based on controlling trade
rather than land. Situated in a strategic location between China and the
trading networks of southeast Asia, the state served as an entrepôt and
collected tolls on water traffic."

From Wiki:The Sultan is the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of Finance, Head of Islam, Head of Customs, Head of the Supreme Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and the Inspector General of the Royal Brunei Police Force.

"Brunei was the scene of the last invasion of WWII, rating a personal visit to the Sultan by Douglas MacArthur (whose 133rd birthday it is today)."

And as I recall, perhaps not with complete exactitude, the Sultan's daughter caused a scandal by falling in love with an American "professional wrestler." The scandal had to be smoothed for operations to proceed by plan and this may have been the reason for MacArthur's visit. I seem to recall that Whitney and others mention this incident. The Sultan was furious at his daughter and the USA and threatening operational difficulties.